News Analysis India

Tag: Indian

  • New Bill to decriminalise minor offences in 42 Acts

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The Centre on Thursday introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to decriminalise minor offences to promote ease of business. The Bill, tabled by Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, proposes to amend 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries including finance, commerce, environment, road transport and highways, ports and electronics.

    The Bill was introduced amid protests by the Opposition over the recent clashes between Indian and Chinese troops at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Presenting the bill, Goyal said the government has adopted several measures to promote ease of doing business. He added that the government wants to do away with punishment provisions for minor offences. 

    “We have to trust people. For minor mistakes, people should not be punished. There should be a provision for paying fines for minor offences,” he said. The minister added that in order to decriminalise offences, the government has repealed about 1,500 old laws, introduced 3,500 norms and simplified 39,000 compliances. According to him, the proposed law will also help reduce the burden on the judiciary. 

    The bill also proposes the rationalisation of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offence.The bill was later referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament for scrutiny. The joint Parliamentary panel includes Lok Sabha MPs P P Chaudhary, Sanjay Jaiswal, Rajendra Agrawal, Poonam Pramod Mahajan, Gaurav Gogoi, A Raja, and Sougata Ray. The names of 10 members of the Rajya Sabha will be announced later. The committee will be required to submit its report to Parliament in the secondpart of the Budget session next year. 

    NEW DELHI:  The Centre on Thursday introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to decriminalise minor offences to promote ease of business. The Bill, tabled by Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, proposes to amend 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries including finance, commerce, environment, road transport and highways, ports and electronics.

    The Bill was introduced amid protests by the Opposition over the recent clashes between Indian and Chinese troops at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Presenting the bill, Goyal said the government has adopted several measures to promote ease of doing business. He added that the government wants to do away with punishment provisions for minor offences. 

    “We have to trust people. For minor mistakes, people should not be punished. There should be a provision for paying fines for minor offences,” he said. The minister added that in order to decriminalise offences, the government has repealed about 1,500 old laws, introduced 3,500 norms and simplified 39,000 compliances. According to him, the proposed law will also help reduce the burden on the judiciary. 

    The bill also proposes the rationalisation of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offence.
    The bill was later referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament for scrutiny. The joint Parliamentary panel includes Lok Sabha MPs P P Chaudhary, Sanjay Jaiswal, Rajendra Agrawal, Poonam Pramod Mahajan, Gaurav Gogoi, A Raja, and Sougata Ray. The names of 10 members of the Rajya Sabha will be announced later. The committee will be required to submit its report to Parliament in the second
    part of the Budget session next year. 

  • On western front, there is increase in concentration of terrorists: Army chief

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday said that as far as the western front is concerned, there is an increase in the concentration of terrorists in various launch pads and there have been repeated attempts of infiltration across the Line of Control.

    The army chief said, “On the western front, there is an increase in the concentration of terrorists in various launch pads and there have been repeated attempts of infiltration across the LAC. This once exposes the nefarious designs of our western neighbour.”

    Addressing the media persons on Tuesday, Gen Naravane said, “If you recall the situation as it existed last January, there have been positive developments both along our northern and western borders. On the northern borders, we have continued to maintain the highest levels of operational preparedness while at the same time, engaging with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) through dialogue.”

    “After persistent joint efforts, mutual disengagement has occurred at many locations of which I have been telling you from time to time. So, that definitely is a positive development that has happened over the last one year. As we speak, the 14th round of the Core Commander talks are underway and I am hopeful that you should see further development in the days ahead,” he added.

    “While there has been a partial disengagement, the threat has by no means reduced and the host level are more or less the same. From our side, it has been enhanced. The threat assessment and internal deliberations that we have carried out from time to time have resulted in some reorganisation and realignment of the same in keeping with our army’s mandate of ensuring our territorial integrity,” the army chief said.

    Gen Naravane said, “This also caters to the major augmentation that has taken in the PLA forces and their infrastructure. While we will continue to deal with PLA in a firm and resolute manner, necessary safeguards are in place to take care of any contingency.”

    The 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China are currently underway.

    The 14th round of Senior Highest Military Commander Level (SHMCL) talks between India and China is taking place on January 12 at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point, on the Chinese side at 09:30 AM (IST). The Indian side is looking forward to constructive dialogue for resolving the remaining friction areas, said Indian Army officials.

    New Delhi and Beijing have been engaged in holding talks on the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff. So far, 13 rounds of talks have been held.

  • Pics show Indian Army unfurling tricolour in Galwan Valley on New Year, bust PLA propaganda

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Indian Army unfurled the Tricolour in the Galwan valley, Ladakh on the occasion of New Year. As per sources in the security establishment, the Indian Army personnel had hoisted the National flag in Galwan on New Year’s eve.
    The move comes amid reports in a section of media that claimed that Chinese soldiers had displayed their flag in the region a few days ago.

    Earlier, the media reported that the Chinese government had sought to “rename” 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh in its map two days ahead of implementing new border law.

    The Indian Government on last Thursday said that it has seen reports of China attempting to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh “in its own language” and asserted that the border state has been and will always be an integral part of India and “assigning invented names does not alter this fact”.

    In response to a media query on reports that China has renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017.

    Indian Army soldiers in Galwan Valley on #NewYear(Photo credit: Sources in security establishment) pic.twitter.com/GJxK0QOW48
    — ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2022
    After the Galwan clash in 2020, several rounds of military and diplomatic talks have ended in a stalemate. Disengagement at some border points did take place but by and large, there is an impasse on complete disengagement. Disengagement at Depsang and Hot Springs remains a key sticky point.

    A huge build-up of forces on each side of Eastern Ladakh even during harsh winters indicates that conflict is far from being defused.

    India maintains that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) had been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements. It was therefore necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector.

  • Good news for railway passengers, Railways changes ticket reservation rules

    Indian Railways has changed the rules of ticket reservation in view of the convenience of passengers. Now the second chart of ticket reservation in the train will be released half an hour before the train leaves the station. This will be the final chart of ticket reservation in the train. In general, the first chart of railway reservation is released four hours before the train leaves the station.

    The purpose of issuing the second chart of ticket reservation half an hour before the departure of the train from the station is to close the booking online or through window ticket on the seats which remained vacant after the first reservation chart. This will benefit those people, who have already booked tickets in waiting. Due to these changes in the rules, tickets taken in waiting will get more time to be confirmed. This will increase the chances of waiting tickets being confirmed.

    When the government decided to run special trains in the midst of the situation caused by the corona virus epidemic, then there was a temporary change in the rules for ticket reservation for these special trains. The railway had made a temporary decision to issue a second reservation chart two hours before the special train started from the station. This decision was taken by the Indian Railways on 11 May 2020.

  • Gandhi, Mandela peace walk ends in South Africa

    A 1,200-km peace walk by an Indian group, retracing the footsteps of world peace icons Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela across three South African provinces, has ended at the birth place of the anti-apartheid activist in Mvezo.

    The Gandhi@150 to Mandela@100 Peace Walk South Africa – which ended on Friday – was conceptualised by serial long-distance walker Nitin Sonawane, who has walked in several countries to promote global peace.

    Sonawane set off with Yogesh Mathuria, Sangram Patil and Dilip Tambolker from his home town of Pune in India together with Jalandharnath Channole from the Gandhi Ashram and Japanese monk Nippozan Myohoji, who joined the team after being inspired by Sonawane during his walk through Japan.

    Undeterred by sceptics, who cautioned that the crime in South Africa was not conducive to the idea of walking the long distances with little support, Sonawane arrived in the country on September 21 to start planning. Their first stop was Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha, Qunu from where they proceeded to Mvezo, SABC news reported.

  • Kartarpur corridor: A timeline

    The following is the chronology of events leading up to the foundation laying for the corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims:

    1522: The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was established by the first Sikh Guru where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.

    February 1999: The Kartarpur Sahib corridor was proposed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he took a bus ride to Lahore during a peace initiative with Pakistan.

  • Autonomy of RBI essential, nurtured by govt: FinMin

    Amid reports of its mounting tension with the RBI, the Finance Ministry Wednesday said the government has “nurtured and respected” autonomy of the central bank and has been holding extensive consultations with it on many issues.

    “The autonomy for the central bank, within the framework of the RBI Act, is an essential and accepted governance requirement. Government of India has nurtured and respected this,” it said in a statement.

    Both the government and RBI, in their functioning, have to be guided by public interest and the requirement of the Indian economy, it said. “For the purpose, extensive consultations on several issues take place between the government and the RBI from time to time.”

    However, the statement did not mention about the  government citing the never-before-used power of issuing directions under the Act to RBI Governor to seek a resolution to differences with the central bank.

    The government has sent at least three letters on different issues under Section 7 (1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act that gives it powers to issue any direction to the central bank governor on matters of public interest.

    “The government of India has never made public the subject matter of those consultations. Only the final decisions taken are communicated,” the statement said.

    “The government, through these consultations, places its assessment on issues and suggests possible solutions. The government will continue to do so,” it added.

  • Amazon offers to buy 60 percent stake in Flipkart

    Amazon.com Inc has made a formal offer to buy a 60 percent stake in Indian online retailer Flipkart CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing sources.Amazon also offered Flipkart a breakup fee of $2 billion and is likely to be on par with Walmart Inc’s bid for the e-commerce company, CNBC TV-18 reported.Reuters in April reported that Walmart was likely to reach a deal to buy a majority stake in Flipkart by the end of June.Representatives at Amazon, Flipkart and Walmart were not immediately available for comment.